As the reveal of thePlayStation 5or PS5draws closer and closer, new information and details regarding the console have begun to surface. One of which is a new feature that is being added to the design of the PS5 Dualshock controller.
ThePlayStation 5, or the PS5, is a gaming console by Sony that has been in development for several years now. Within the last year, the gaming community has received quite a bit of information regarding the new system,such the PS5 logo, which some fans have taken and done their own spin on. However, as thePS5’s reveal date draws closer and closer, many pieces of new information have been either leaked or publicly released regarding new PS5exclusive games and the system itself.
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An overlooked design detail concerning the PS5controller has both fans and developers rather intrigued. The new controller will feature a hardware mechanic called haptic feedback. What is haptic feedback? Essentially, instead of a standard rumble feature that is common with most game controllers, thePS5controller will respond differentlydepending on specific events that are happening in-game. This caught the attention of game developer Ivan Moen who commented that “…haptics add a lot to an experience. But, I also think it’s subjective to different players, and it also depends on how the game utilizes it. But overall I think the potential for adding to an experience is very high.”
Another new addition to the design of the controller is the use ofadaptive L2 and R2 triggers. This feature will allow developers to customize the trigger resistance so that they get to decide how difficult the trigger itself is to use. Depending on the game, both of these features could offer a greater layer of depth and complexity when it comes to gameplay.
Having said all of this, it’s hard to know how well each of these respective features will work in practice. Video gaming has seen its fair share of gameplay gimmicks over the years and they were not always as effective as intended. Plus,even with all of the PS5 games that have been potentially leaked, its hard to predict how these controller features will be used in those games, if at all. It’s also important to note that the Dualshock 4 controller also had a lot of features that developers hardly utilized.
Then again, these features do seem much more approachable from a development standpoint as opposed to something like motion control, for example. Say for instance, a game likeDeath Strandingwhere a lot of the gameplay relies on the use of the L2 and R2 triggers, the use of adaptive triggers could make the gameplay more difficult and complex, even thoughDeath Strandingis already difficult and complex by default. Not to mention that the rumble feature has existed for decades, so the addition of haptic feedback could add a lot in terms of a new experience.
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